There's a new episode of "Gossip Girl" tonight!
Photo by Sharon Vaknin/CNET

Missing the newest episode of your favorite TV show is the worst.

Sure, the latest episode of "Top Chef" is bound to rerun, but by the time it airs, the entire Interwebs has already torn it apart, revealing who was eliminated, which dishes looked delicious, and how hot (or not) Padma looked that day. (Let's be honest: she's never the latter.)

There's really nothing like catching the latest episode the first time it airs, and tweeting (or Facebook-posting) immediately after in excitement with the rest of America.

But with so many TV shows to keep track of, and a busy life schedule, it's easy to lose track of what's airing when.

To fix this issue, there's a way to get text message alerts on the days your favorite TV shows air. Here's how:

Part 1: First, we need to create an RSS feed of all your shows.

Head to http://www.mytvrss.com/feed.do and check the boxes for all the TV shows you want to keep track of. Click "Create Feed" and copy the link in the next window under "RSS".

Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET

Part 2: Now we'll turn that RSS feed into text message alerts.

1. Go to ifttt.com and click "Join" to sign up for an account. Then, in the dashboard click "Create new task." Select "Feed" (the RSS symbol), then "New feed item."

Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET

2. In the Feed URL box, paste the link you copied from mytvRSS. Then select "Create Trigger."

3. Click "that" and select SMS as the action channel. You'll then be asked to activate it. Select "Activate" and enter your mobile phone number. You'll receive a text message with a four-digit PIN. Enter the PIN, select "Activate," and continue to the next step.

5. Click "Create action," then enter a description, like "TV show reminder," and select "create task."

Going forward, you'll get text message alerts on the days your favorite TV shows air. Each text message will include the season number, episode number, episode title, and a link to the complete episode description.

If you ever want to add or remove TV shows, head back to mytvrss.com to edit your alerts.

About the author

Sharon Profis is a CNET How To expert who cooks up DIY projects, in-depth guides, and little-known tricks that help you get the most out of your tech. During her four years at CNET, she's covered social media, funky gadgets, and has shared her tech knowledge on CBS and other news outlets.
See full bio